Apparatus for the distillation of carbonaceous materials



June 24, 1924.

T. w. s. HuTcl-nNs APPARATUS FOR THE DISTILLATION OF CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS Filed NOV. 2. 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 24 1 924.

T. W. S. HUTCHINS APPARATUS FOR THE DISTILLATION OF CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS '3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 2, 1921 June 24 1924.

T. W. s HUTCHINS APPARATUS FOR THE DISTILLATION OF CARBONACE OUS MATERIALS Filed Nov. 2.;

1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 wa June 24, 1924.

ems STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

'rnomes WILLIAM srAmna HUTCHINS, or nevnnrmiu, Enenm.

E APPARATUS FOR THE DISTILLATION- F GAIRIBONACEOUS MATERIALS.

Application filed November 2, 1921. Serial No. 512,319. 7 v

'To all. whomz't may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS WILLIAM STAINER HUTGHINS, a subject of the King of -Great Britain and Ireland, and resiefdent of Davenham in the'county'of Chester, England, have invented certain new K and useful Improvements in Apparatus for the Distillation of Carbonaceous Materials, of which the following is a specificationj This invention relates to apparatus for the distillation of coal, oil shale, and other like materials, and more particularly to apparatus of the rotary tube type which is externally heated to effect the low temperature distillation of the coal, oil shale or like material passing therethrough.

The object of .the invention is to provide improved and eflicient means for preventing the caking within the retort of'the material bein distilled therein, and/or the adhesion of t e said material or of the distillate volatile matter to the walls of the retort which would prevent or interfere with the flow of the material through the retort. and/ or reduce the heat efliciency' of the latter and its internal temperature.

My invention .com rises the combination with an externally eated rotatable horizontal or inclined tube in which distillation of the materialis effected, of one or more tumblers which may extend from end to end or through any desired portion of the length of the tube, each tumb er comprising radial arms upon which th tumbler can '35 rest, each tumbler being adapted to be carried round the inner surface of the tube as the latter rotates until it overbalances,

falls by its own weight, and strikes'thetube with such force as to cause a yield- 40 ing movement and/or act as a hammer which ,results in the freeing of an, material caked upon the tube and'the breakin up "of any caked material within the tu e. My invention further comprises the details of arrangement of the improved apparatus'hereinafter described. and claimed. Referring to the two accompanying sheets of explanatory draWings:

Figure 1; isa longitudinal sectional elevation of a distillation retort constructed and arranged in one convenient form in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional endelevation on theline AB of Figure 1 to be heatedexternally-by hot gases pass- Figures 3 and 4 arerespectively sectional elevation and end elevation of a jointing arrangement of the. revolving tubular retort.

The same reference letters in the different views indicate the same parts.

The coal or like vdistillation plant com. prises a. rotating tube. a which is adapted ing through the chamber 7) on their way to the waste gas chimney c. The tube aruns on rollers d and isrotated by worm and worm. wheel or other gearing at e as shown.

Within the tube a is mounted a tube 7 carried atone end by the blank flange plate g'and carried'at the other end by a spider 01'' supports 72. from the tube a. A scoop a" attached to the tube f is adapted to feed the coal. or'other material supplied through the hopper j to the trough ls, into the tubes This scooping up of the material against the weight of the material in the receptacle below the'hopper will evidently cause a head of pressure on the material in the tube f and cause it .to move gradually through the tube f.

' The tube f contains a tumbler m which is vadapted as the said tube rotates along with the tube a, to be carried round the inner surface of the-tube for a short distance until it overbalances, when it falls by its own as the latter is carried partially round the tube and also when the tumbler strikes the tube on falling to the bottom thereof and this combined with the effect of the blow received by the tube on the impact of the falling tumbler thereon, efiectually maintains' the surface of the tube free from all adhering material. To obtain this operation it is apparent that the material must-be made to' pass through the tube f at such a rate of speed'that it will not accumulate therein to such an extent that the tumbler '110 The coal or the like fed intothe tube by the scoop 4' travels gradually towards the closed end 9 of the tube f.- Adjacent such end the tube is perforated as shown at 'n,

Figure 1, so that the coal passes -intothe outer tube a and travels there'along towards the hopper o from which the residue can be ,withdrawn at intervals through the door The material entering the tube 7 is su 'ected to the lowest temperature as the heat is obtained throu h the annular space between the two tlfiX-ES. distillation of the lighter oils which issue to gether 'with the gases distilled from the material, into the chambero and pass to the.

gas off-take g.

By reason of the closure of the inner and outer tubes at g, the heating of the part of the tube a at which the gearing e is situated is'obviated and heat losses due to radiation minimized.

I may, if desired, provide small tumblers as m inthe s ace between .th two-tubes a and f but this may be unnecessary as the material which passes from thetube f to the tube a through the'perforationsn may not have ,caking roperties due to the partial distillation of its volatile constituents.

The distillates produced in the annular space between the two tubes pass into the chamber a where they mix and pass away with the distillates from the tube In practice, it is foundthat t e tube a may not remain trul buckle sli htly and rther end play must be allowe for during working. To allow of such end play and to obviate a rigid joint between the tube a and the chamber '0 whilst providing a as ti ht connection there, I may employ t e flexible diaphragm oint shown in igures 3 and 4. In this,

cylindrical but may there is a collar or ring a securedupon and rotating with the retort or tube a. The diaphragm t carries a jointing ring u/whichis held'against the end face of the collar 8 by a series of tension springs v. With this construction, a as tight 'oint is continu-' ously maintaine between t e tube a and thechamber oby the jointing ring-u and collar 8, notwithstanding any end movement of the tube a or twisting of the same.

I do not limit myself to the employment of two tubes as a and f but may employ one tube as (I. having a tumbler. the'rein, receiv-' ing the coal or other material at one end This facilitates the and discharging the residue. at the other end, butrthe arrangement of two tubes en-- ables me to place the gas ofi-take, the coal feed and the ash dischargingmeans at one end of the retort so that one gas tight joint only around the tube a is necessary.

I claim 1. An apparatus for distillin coal, oil

'the axis of said tube and having spaced arms extending outwardly from its longitudinal axis the spaces between the arms being open from end to end of the tumbler, said tumbler being of such size and weight as to move with the inner surface of the retort tube untilthe portion of the surface which the tumbler engages has moved upwardly to a predetermined extent, and at this time to tumble over and strike said surface with suflicient force to loosen any magerial tending to adhere to said inner surace.

2. A distilling ap aratus as claimed in claim 1 in which sai tumbler extends substantially the entire length of said tube.

3. A distilling apparatus as claimed in claim lin which said tumbler extends substantially the entire length of said tube and isat any part thereof of substantially starshaped cross-section. 1

4. A distilling ap aratus including a rotatable tubeada te to receive at oneend the material to e distilled, an outer tube surrounding the first mentioned tube and movable therewith, a closure for both tubes located some distance within the end of the outer tube, ports arranged near the end of movable therewith, a closure for both tubes,

e distilled, an outer tube ports arranged near the end of the inner tube for permitting communication between the interiors of the tubes, and outlet ports arran ed at the opposite end of the outer tube a or permittingthe products of distillation to escape from the interior of the tubes, and a casing for both the inlet end of the inner tube and the outlet end ofthe outer tube.

6. A distilling apparatus including a ro-v tatable tube adapted to receive the material to be distilled, a casing endjfi of the tube, means for closing the space between the tube and easing lncluding a flexible diaphragm connected to the caslng, a ring fixed to the tube, and resilient means for maintaining said ring in engagement with the diaphragm.

7. A distilling apparatus including an outer rotatable retort tube, an inner retort tube arranged in the outer tube, means arranged near one end of the inner tube for placing the interiors of the tubes in communication, means for feeding the material to be distilled into the other end of the inner tube, means for discharging the products of distillation from the outer tube, means for rotating said tubes, and a tumbler extending substantially the entire length of the inner tube and arranged within the latter, said tumbler being rovided with outwardly extending supporting arms adapted to strike said inner tube for preventing the accumulation of carbon and the like on the inner surface of the same.

8. The process of distilling coal, bituminous shale or like materials which consists in feedin it into one end of a substantially horizonta tube, under a head of pressure, pulverizing the material and simultaneously keepingit moving throu h the tube by intermittently jarring the tu e and scraping the inner surface of the tube to prevent adherence of the material to its interior surface, and simultaneously applying heat to the tube so as to gradually heat the material zontal rotatable tube, a tumbler arranged in said tube and having spaced bladesextending outwardly from its lon itudinal axis, and means for feeding material to be treated into one end of said tube, the opposite end of the tube having an outlet opening always substantially on a level with the bottom of the tube to ermit-the free discharge of material from t e tube and thus prevent the accumulation of material within the tube, said tumbler bein of such size and weight as to move within a surface of the .tube until the portion of the surface which the tumbler engages begins to move upwardly, causing the tumbler at this time to tumble over and strike said surface with a scraping action and with sufficient force to loosen any material tending to adhere to said inner surface.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

THOMAS WHLIAM STAINER HUTCHEN. 

